Overkill
The Years Of Decay

THE REVIEW

Here I am to review one of the best thrash metal albums of the '80s.

"The Years Of Decay" was released in 1989, a year in which the greatest bands of the genre had already released their masterpieces. These are stagnant years for the genre, seeking new bands to fuel a scene that, as I said, seemed to have already given its best. Overkill is on their fourth album (not counting 2 EPs) and following up from a well-crafted album like "Under The Influence". The lineup is the same as the previous album, with Bobby Blitz Ellsword on vocals, D.D. Verni on bass, Bobby Gustafson on guitars, and Sid Falck on drums. Produced by Terry Date, the album is a mixture of the best of the "Overkill sound". The opener is the anthemic "Time To Kill", a power thrash with Blitz's vitriolic vocals taking center stage and with an almost doom slowdown in the middle. The second track, "Elimination", follows in the footsteps of the first track. "I Hate" is very simple in its almost punk-like structure, both in the guitar riffs by the talented Gustafson and in the choruses.

"Nothing To Die For" is a classic Thrash song typical of the Bay-area, thus reminiscent of Metallica from the "Master of Puppets" era. The first real surprise comes at track number five with the Thrash-Doom of "Playing With Spiders/Skullkrusher", a slow and paced song in the first and last part with a speed intermezzo. In "Birth Of Tension", the bass by D.D. VERNI is in the foreground, while the eight minutes of "Who Tends The Fire" open with a long arpeggio that will culminate in another slow and Sabbath-like song. But the two highlights of the album are positioned at the end: a melodic guitar arpeggio combined with Blitz's equally melodic voice opens the superb "The Years Of Decay" that becomes more aggressive as the minutes go by, this track also reaches eight minutes. The grand finale is entrusted to "E.Vil N.Ever D.Ies", a bone-crushing live thrash, again with applause to Gustafson on the guitar for this torrential song filled with tempo changes and once again guided by Blitz's sandpaper-like voice.

With this album, Overkill bids farewell to the '80s, knowing they undoubtedly deserve a place just behind the four great American thrash bands, although I would gladly replace Megadeth with them.